Return"ed" With Honor

 

Kade's little bro Kolby just returned from serving his mission in Cape Verde, some islands off the coast of Africa. It is so awesome to have him home. Kolby and I have a great relationship and it feels good to have him back here with us. We really missed his jokes and his ability to make tense situations light. He served honorably and we are so proud of him. We picked him up at St. George airport. That night we took him to Texas Roadhouse for his first steak dinner in 2 years. The day after he got home all he wanted to do was go to the lake so that's what we did. He had his first homecoming in Nephi the following Sunday and he has one here this Sunday. Kolby also got to meet Zoey for the first time and as you can see it was love at first sight. Those 2 cuddle all the time and Zoey's butt wags almost as hard as it does when she sees Kade whenever Kolby comes over. Everyday since he has been home he has been wearing out his old brother and sister. He wants to stay up late and do fun things all day. We are having a blast and I just want to tell Kolby how much I love him and how proud I am of everything he has accomplished.

Bear Lake

A few weeks ago we had another family reunion. It was with Kade's, Mom's, Dad and Stepmom. (Haha, you have no idea how confusing Kade's family is!) Anyway, we grudgingly went up to freezing Bear Lake but we had a good time. Liz had recently moved up to Logan to get prepared for her first D1 Volleyball Season so we picked her up on the way which made the trip even more enjoyable. It was a freaking long drive but we all do crazy things for our families!

Walking down to the Lake

Zoey finally passed out after chasing the birds all day

Our little family

Out on the wave runner

Crazy man Kade on the wave runner

Costa Rica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

K so anyone who knows my family very well knows that I have loved to travel before I met Kade because my family loves it. I have always been so grateful to my parents for taking us around the world to experience other cultures and just make memories. So this trip was of course another fun family vacation but I think I must say that this was the most high adventrue trip we have ever taken. We were going crazy the whole time. It ws so freakin' awesome. We saw tonz of wildlife, got to go to 2 different cities for church, saw the temple, hiked through the dense rain forest, went on 2 zip lines, played at the beach, and I'm sure some other stuff. I guess the pictures explain it pretty well. Sorry that this took me so long, we have been in and out of town for over a month now, but we are settling down for at least a couple weeks anyway. Anyway, we had a blast, just like all our trips, and I have to vocally express my love and appreciation for my family and my husband because none of these amazing experiences would be amazing without them!

McArthur Family Reunion

 

So since both my dad's parents died we haven't been seeing his side of the family much. There are 8 kids and I think we all just get busy. So this reunion was the first in like I don't even know how many years but it was a blast! Friday night we had a BBQ and swam at my parents and then Sat. we went up to my uncle's cabin in Pine Valley. It was really beautiful up there and we had a great time. It is weird that now all the little kids running around are my cousins kids instead of my cousins and I. Time flies I guess.

SCHS Graduation

 

Well, I can't believe it but Liz is actually graduated. It was fun to be there and remember my graduation exactly 4 years ago. I was kinda sad but very proud of her. Graduation was just another step towards her leaving, which I am not excited for but I know it will be awesome for her. Kade and I also got asked to help with grad night. The theme was Indiana Jones, we all looked pretty good and we actually had a really fun night. I'm glad we got to go. Kade had never seen a grad night, especially not one like the ones we have at SC so he thought it was pretty cool. The picture in the middle is what Indiana flew in on and jumped out of. It was crazy! So it was a very fun day!

P.S. Thanks for all your support as a brunette but I am just a blonde at heart. I also have some hot pink streaks in there, see if you can find them!

Anniversary #2

 

Well, this year for our Anniversary we decided to keep it simple since we are heading out to Costa Rica in less than a month. We decided to do a take out picnic dinner on the lawns of the temple. We picked up our food from Olive Garden and packed our own sparkling cider and glasses. Kade had already given me my present of my very own girly life jacket so that I could get using it and it took me forever to decide what to get him. He doesn't like it when I buy him anything so I always have to get pretty creative. I decided to write him 104 reasons why I love him. 1 for each week we have been married. Some of them were pretty funny & on #87 my sister had snuck in her own reason without my knowledge which made us laugh pretty hard. Then Kade told me that he had gotten me another present that was really thoughtful. He said he decided to give me 3 trips to Lins with no whining, complaining, or questions asked. It could be with me or without me. Anyone who knows Kade very well knows that he HATES the grocery store and I always have to go by myself, which I usually don't mind, just sometimes it would be nice to have someone else there. So it was a very thoughtful gift! Haha! Kade and I usually go all out all the time and it was kinda nice to just enjoy the simple things like just being together without all the craziness that usually surrounds us. So it was a great anniversary!

The Dunes

 

Well last week we got to go to the dunes twice in one week. It was a blast! The first trip we forgot the camera but I got it on our second trip. We went with my dad, Jake Palmer and his girlf Lindsey. She and I rode in Kim's new Rhino while Kade and Jake rode on the Banshee and the YFZ and my dad took the 250 motorcycle. We had so much fun even though it was like the worst day as far as wind goes. The picture in the bottom right corner is of the Rhino stuck! Thanks to me! :(
We love the dunes and most of all we love our AWESOME friends. Lindsey and I got to spend some time talking and I'm way excited to get to know her even better, since Jake and Kade are pretty much inseperable now that Jake works with him at Ence! Yeah for great friends!